Robin Hills resident coaches SA team at World Road Running Champs
The inaugural World Athletics Road Running Champs see South Africa earn a bronze medal.
Robin Hills resident and elite athletics coach training out of Hoërskool Randburg, Elise Viljoen has just returned from a successful stint as the coach of the Athletics South Africa team at the first-ever World Athletics (WA) Road Running Championship in Latvia.
The men’s half marathon team brought home a bronze medal while the women missed out on a medal by only 11 seconds.
“The trip to Riga was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I was so excited being surrounded by the best athletes, coaches and managers in the world,” Viljoen said of the October 1 event.
“My duty was to support our athletes in understanding the route for the mile, 5km and half marathon that were run in the streets of the city and to discuss difficult areas with them. Riga is a safe, clean and beautiful city and I could walk the parks when out with the athletes for their morning runs and training. On race day I accompanied the athletes to the start and finish and also assisted them at the water stations for the half marathon.”
The team of 14 athletes included seven men and seven women.
“What made it even more special was that any athlete could enter for the event and compete with the elite athletes on the day. The mass race for the 21.1km [half marathon] was run with the elite men’s field and the mass mile and 5km were run before the elite mile and 5km.”
Viljoen has been the middle-distance coach of Hoërskool Randburg since 2010 and did her level 3 coaching course under the care of Richard Mayer. This helped her pass with distinction as a national coach.
“We have a strong training group at Hoërskool Randburg for primary and high school athletes. What made this trip even more special was that my daughter, Carina Viljoen, who matriculated at Hoërskool Randburg in 2015, was a member of the team and ran the mile.”
Carina finished 15th and set the SA record for the mile at the event (04:39:01).
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